@thumper1 where my son got married they could have assigned cabins to the guests. It would have made them able to accommodate more guests onsite. They didn’t think people would like that so made the choice not to do so. The prices of the cabins were based on cabin not number of guests. If you wanted a cabin that could sleep five but were just two people you paid more. They gave the guests a list of offsite option and provided a shuttle for those guests. I would not have wanted to share with strangers or even with a lot of my relatives.
@thumper- is the small resort the only place to stay within a reasonable distance of the wedding? Would two couples be put in the same room? I can think of so many reasons why people would want to opt out of a room share. Snoring, privacy, differing schedules, medical issues, etc.
And do I feel for anyone trying to set that up for their wedding guests. Weren’t table assignments challenging enough?
As to cultural issues, our son in law’s family booked hotel rooms for all their guests and treated them to their stays. It seemed a cultural tradition; I don’t believe there were unexpected combinations for room assignments though.
Yes two couples were randomly assigned to room together in one room…not a suite, a room. No there isn’t other lodging close by unless you think a 30 minute drive is closeby.
I’m not hearing that this is a cultural thing so I’m wondering where this idea came from.
And for those of you planning weddings…just reserve a block of rooms. Let your guests decide if they want to share…or not.
To fine to reserve rooms for the wedding party so they can be in close proximity…but the rest of the guests…my opinion…no. Let the guests choose.
@thumper1 - this sounds unappealing at best and unworkable at worst. Four adults, one bath, no privacy with wedding prep, too? I’d prefer the half hour drive unless the location is absurdly difficult to navigate or remote.
Is this is an effort to do people a favor by making it possible for all to stay close by? Hard to understand without knowing the context and perhaps a very different equation for peers of a younger bride and groom than our generation.
We have stayed a half hour drive away from a wedding venue in an air bnb for a long holiday weekend so our family could hang out. It worked out fine as we weren’t part of rehearsal dinner, etc.
Yes, I think they grouped people so that the maximum number could stay on the grounds. But still… We will be staying the half hour away for one night only.
The wedding will be lots of fun, and we are looking forward to celebrating, and meeting the bride.
No way I’d share a room with another couple.
I think it would have been better for the engaged couple to arrange an extra room block at the place 30 minutes away and arrange so group transportation from there if they had concern about inconveniencing guests.
Wedding is 3/15 … Will the corona virus mess things up…?
@fretfulmother I’m hoping coronavirus will not interfere with your wedding plans.
Our next family wedding is in June. The bride’s entire family will be coming here from India…hoping their plans don’t get messed up!
Thank you!!! Good luck with yours, too.
Hi all! New to this wedding group, although I have been a part of college confidential since 2011 helping sons navigate high school/SATs/college admission.
Son got engaged January 18.
Wedding is planned March 6, 2021. Greek Cathedral and ballroom booked. Rehearsal dinner venue booked. Wedding in Atlanta, Ga.
Very organized bride… I have already turned n my guest list and have now got complete list with addresses… have not turned this in yet because still may swap out guests… maybe? Basically have an alternate list of 8 persons I would love to swap in with some that I know will not attend but have to be invited. So just mulling it over for now. Large wedding because both families have about 120 family members including up to parent’s first cousin level and their children. And bridal party is 30!
So that is 270 without inviting any other guests yet.
Rehearsal dinner large too… 125 invites… so we wanted to book that space because there are limited Friday night private options for that size.
Florist contract signed by me and DH for rehearsal dinner table arrangements and flowers groom is responsible for… bride’s bouquet, groomsmen boutonnieres and family corsages.
Groom booked honeymoon yesterday.
I am working on hotel wedding block for groom family/friends.
So we have a good start.
I have loved reading your posts and look forward to being on this journey with all of you. I will definitely be seeking advice.
Thank you for allowing me to join your group and discussions!
Congratulations…and have fun.
It sounds like you are doing a hotel block for the grooms family? Does this mean the bride will be doing a different one for her family? Wouldn’t it be easier to reserve a block of rooms for anyone attending the wedding? Some people might actually know both the bride and groom…where would they stay if there were separate hotel blocks? Just a thought.
You have a good start on this…close to 300 is a good sized wedding. With that many…why can’t 8 additional people be invited?
@thumper1
First- wedding size. The brides family initially planned 200-300 but basically said we want all family included, so just give us your list and then we will adjust. Our family list was 120 at first cousin level and so was brides. With wedding party and few that have spouses/significant others number is 280. My initial list was 160, but son called and said he knew bride’s list was 144 and he wanted to turn in a number smaller than hers so could i get it down. O f course! Most important is bride and grooms friends to me. So we whiddled friends/coworkers down to 10 couples and had a list of 140. So our extra 20 gets us to 300 and their 24 gets us to 324. Then bride and grrom have invited about 45 more so we are at 375.
So yes I have an alternate list of 4 couples… not inviting any friends of couples… but dont know if I should ask for this or just wait and talk to family and any I find out cannot come, see if they are ok not getting an invite?
Second- bride was getting a room contract for 40 rooms two nights. But the attrition rate was 60 percent so basically they were liable for 48 nightly room charges even if guests chose a different hotel option and the bride’s parents were not willing to sign that contract. And I do not blame them. So they are just going to list the two closest hotels on the wedding site for guests to have hotel choices, but they are not blocking rooms. Because we live three hours away, I wanted to get a block for not all of our guests, because again if they chose to stay in a different area, I would be liable, but for all family/friends that will be attending rehearsal dinner and wedding, which is about 15 rooms in addition to ours, I am getting the hotel block/rate. Does that make sense?
@gasenioryear Perhaps you could offer to pay for the additional 8 people if you really would like to invite them? But FWIW we have a similar issue – for us the factor is space limitations in the room.
That does make sense about the hotel block…but how will they differentiate on the website? “Grooms family only has a block of rooms”?
Or will you communicate this a different way than the website to those guests?
yes it is space limitations. And I want to respect what my son asked of us, so I am just playing with spaces in case as we talk to family we find some know they or their kids cannot attend.
Room block… they are not going to say there is a room block on the wedding site, so when they call the hotel if they say the grooms last name, anyone can access that block because I will not label it groom’s side only! 
BUT… once the contract is signed, my group that I got the rooms for is waiting to book immediately! Then the block will be filled. If someone delays and it is taken, then thats fine and that person will just not get discount.
@gasenioryear Oh congratulations!!! What fun a big wedding can be , and it sounds like you are all off to an excellent collaborative start. We did a similar thing by listing hotels that were reputable and convenient, and I got a block of rooms for my husband’s family to reserve if they wanted. We were lucky in that there was no obligation – we reserved a block and the hotel just held them until a month prior and let whatever wasn’t taken, go.
@gasenioryear, congratulations! Sounds like everyone is working well together which I suspect is key for such a large wedding.
@fretfulmother, i’ll join you in the coronavirus worry group. My S’s wedding is 3/21 and on top of that, they’re going to Thailand on their honeymoon. I haven’t slept in a week 
DDs wedding is 3/28. I am starting to get nervous!! (normal nervous not Corona Virus nervous).
Luckily my DD has her wedding dress (hers came from Australia). I just read that 80% of wedding dresses come from China. Is that true?
Well, looks like we have a March trifecta going here! My S’s bachelor weekend starts tomorrow, next week MOB and I have final appointments with the florist and the venue and I have a dress fitting, and then we’re down to two weeks. Time is starting to fly by. I think all responses save two have been received and we’re going to come in exactly where we had hoped - just under 200 people.
As for the nerves, i keep repeating to myself that I can only control what I can control and it will all be fine!